Glossary

48 terms that come up when selling a home in North Carolina or South Carolina, each defined in a sentence or two, with a longer note where one is useful.

Agency disclosure: A required notice explaining the types of representation a brokerage can provide before you sign a listing or buyer agreement.
Appraisal: A licensed appraiser's opinion of value, ordered by the buyer's lender to support the loan.
Appraisal gap: The difference between the contract price and a lower appraised value.
AVM (automated valuation model): A computer estimate of a home's value from public records and recent sales. Zillow's Zestimate is one.
Broker of record: The licensed brokerage, and its broker-in-charge, legally responsible for a listing on the MLS.
Buyer-agent compensation: A payment toward the fee of the agent representing the buyer.
Closing attorney: In North Carolina and South Carolina, the licensed attorney who conducts the closing: title work, deed, funds, recording, and disbursement.
CMA (comparative market analysis): A pricing analysis built from comparable sales, adjusted for differences, usually prepared by an agent or broker.
Coming soon: An MLS status some boards offer for a listing that is signed but not yet available for showings, giving agents advance notice without accruing days on market.
Comparable sales (comps): Recently closed sales of similar homes nearby, used to estimate what a home will sell for.
Cooperating broker: The brokerage on the other side of a transaction, usually the buyer's agent's firm.
Counter-offer: A response that changes one or more terms of an offer. It rejects the original offer and creates a new one for the other side to accept.
Days on market: How long a listing has been active. Portals show it; buyers read a high number as a reason to offer less.
Deed recording fee: South Carolina's transfer tax, $3.70 per $1,000 of price, customarily paid by the seller.
Due diligence fee: In North Carolina, a payment from buyer to seller for the right to cancel for any reason during the due diligence period. Non-refundable, credited at closing.
Due diligence period: In North Carolina, the negotiated window after contract during which the buyer can inspect, arrange financing, and cancel for any reason.
Earnest money: A deposit the buyer makes after contract, held in trust, credited at closing, and forfeited to the seller if the buyer breaches.
Equitable interest: A contractual right to buy a property before title transfers. Some investors market properties they have under contract; MLS rules on this vary by board and are strict.
Errors and omissions insurance: Professional liability coverage a brokerage carries against claims arising from its services. The broker of record for your listing carries it.
Excise tax (revenue stamps): North Carolina's transfer tax, $1 per $500 of price, customarily paid by the seller and shown on the settlement statement.
Fair housing: Federal and state law prohibiting discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability. It governs listing language and how showings and offers are handled.
Financing contingency: A contract term making the purchase dependent on the buyer obtaining a loan on stated terms by a deadline.
FIRPTA: A federal rule requiring the buyer to withhold 15% of the price when the seller is a foreign person, unless an exemption applies. A withholding settled on the seller's tax return, not the final tax.
Flat fee MLS: A listing arrangement where a licensed brokerage enters your home in the MLS for a fixed fee instead of a percentage of the sale price.
FSBO (for sale by owner): Selling without a listing agent. A flat fee MLS listing is a FSBO sale with MLS exposure through a broker of record.
IDX (Internet Data Exchange): The arrangement that lets brokerage websites display other brokerages' MLS listings.
Inspection contingency: A contract term allowing the buyer to inspect and to renegotiate or cancel based on the findings within a set number of days.
Kick-out clause: A term that lets a seller under a contingent contract accept a better offer if the first buyer cannot remove their contingency within a short notice period.
Lead-based paint disclosure: A federal disclosure required for housing built before 1978, covering known lead paint, available records, the EPA pamphlet, and a testing opportunity for the buyer.
Limited-service listing: A listing agreement in which the brokerage provides some services (such as MLS entry and paperwork review) but not others (such as showing or negotiating).
Listing agreement: The contract between a seller and a brokerage authorizing the brokerage to market the property, stating the term, price, fee, and services.
Lockbox: A keyed or electronic box holding a house key so agents can show a home when the owner is out. Optional for a flat fee listing.
MLS (multiple listing service): A regional database of listings shared among member brokerages, which feeds Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and brokerage websites.
Months of supply: Active listings divided by monthly sales: how long current inventory would take to sell. Under four months favors sellers; above six favors buyers.
Net proceeds: What the seller receives at closing after the loan payoff, closing costs, prorations, credits, and any compensation are subtracted from the price.
No Representation: An answer choice on North Carolina and South Carolina disclosure forms meaning the seller makes no statement about that item.
Nonresident withholding: State income tax withheld at closing when the seller lives out of state. South Carolina withholds 7% of gain (Form I-290); North Carolina withholds 4% of the price for nonresident sellers.
Proration: Splitting a periodic cost such as property tax or HOA dues between buyer and seller by the days each owned the property.
Public remarks: The listing description shown to the public on the MLS and syndicated sites.
Sale-of-home contingency: A contract term making the purchase dependent on the buyer selling their current home.
Seller disclosure statement: A state form where the seller reports known conditions of the property before a contract is signed.
Seller net sheet: An itemized estimate of net proceeds. Ours is a free tool; the attorney's settlement statement is the final version.
Settlement statement: The closing document listing every charge and credit to buyer and seller. Prepared by the closing attorney; replaced the HUD-1 for most sales.
Showing instructions: An agent-only MLS field describing how to schedule a showing and whom to contact.
Syndication: Automatic distribution of MLS listing data to consumer websites and brokerage sites.
Title insurance: Insurance against losses from title defects. The lender's policy protects the loan; an owner's policy protects the buyer. Who pays is customary by area and negotiable.
Title search: An examination of public records to confirm the seller owns the property and to find liens, easements, and other claims that must be cleared before closing.
Under contract: MLS status meaning the seller has accepted an offer; contingencies may still be open.